Puck Princess (Houston Scythes Hockey #2)

5. Callie

5

CALLIE

I don’t know what Kennedy was talking about, but Pour Boys is bursting at the seams. After a game like tonight’s, the place is crawling with every kind of person—fans, athletes, girls who like athletes, guys who like girls who like athletes. I’m a little relieved Kennedy decided to leave when she did. The booze is flowing by the pitcher and it’s getting rowdier by the second.

The bouncer lets me in despite the bar being well above capacity. The perks of being a young, single woman on the bar scene.

I step inside and immediately start scanning the sea of intoxicated people for Summer. But between the average height of most hockey players being two heads taller than me and the dim lighting, it’s impossible. I can’t see a thing.

“Callie!” I hear a familiar voice coming through the crowd, and I swim towards it.

I don’t care what Kennedy says—I’ve never been happier to see Lance.

I grab the front of his shirt. “Hey, have you seen?—”

“Have you seen Kennedy?” he interrupts.

“She’s at home. She left.” I answer, still tracing back and forth over the room. “Have you seen?—”

“She left?” he yells over the music.

“Yeah. She grabbed some appetizers and went home. But hey, I’m looking for?—”

“Seriously?” He shakes his head. “I swear to God, Callie. Your cousin is something else.”

I’m on the verge of asking him what’s going on between them. This is the first time we’ve ever had a chance to dive into it, and I really want to know.

Bigger fish to fry and all that.

But before I can get back on task, Lance curses under his breath. “She told me she was going to the bathroom and that I should order some appetizers to-go. She said we’d ditch this cesspool and talk over some buffalo chicken rolls.”

I can’t hide the grimace on my face. “I think she dined and dashed, Lance.”

He shoves his hands in his pockets, and I feel for the guy. But I’ll feel for him later. Right now, I’m on a mission.

“Listen, I don’t mean to be rude but?—”

“Callie!” More familiar faces separate themselves from the rabble. This time, it’s Heath and Lachlan headed our way, beers in hand.

“Long time no see. We miss you around the arena.” Lachlan squeezes my arm in a friendly gesture.

“Yeah. Thanks.” I try to smile, but seriously, this is not why I came here.

“Why did you leave?” Heath chimes in, his words slurring together like spoken cursive. “There are rumors, but I want to hear it from you.”

“Listen, I’d love to chat, but I need to find Summer.”

“Owen’s hot sister?” Heath furrows his brow in an attempt to form thoughts.

If Owen hears him say that, the Scythes will be down two team members.

“Yes.”

“The one with the baby?” Lachlan asks.

“Yes. Have you seen her?”

“Oh yeah, she’s here.” Heath nods casually, taking another swig from his mug.

I’m getting impatient. “ Where here?”

“She was with Miles at the bar,” he says before belching. “But I think they left.”

My heart plummets. “Together?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Lachlan shakes his head. “Fuckin’ Miles. Bro’s halfway down the aisle, and he’s still gettin’ all the chicks.”

Shit. I turn to leave, already elbowing my way through the crowd. “Get an Uber home tonight, please,” I call back over my shoulder.

“Awww, look at her,” Heath babbles. “Not even working for the team anymore and she’s still taking care of us.”

I hustle back out to the sidewalk, but it’s just as crowded outside as it is inside. People are talking, vaping, bar hopping. The only thing I don’t see is Miles or Summer.

“You lookin’ for someone, sweetheart?” the bouncer asks with a tip of his head. He’s a large man dressed in solid black. His head is shaved and his thick arms are sleeved in old tattoos that have all faded to the same shade of green.

“I’m looking for a hockey player. Big guy—he plays hockey for the Scythes.”

“Honey, half the people here play hockey for the Scythes. You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

“Miles Solomon. He was with a girl about my height—reddish blonde hair, probably wearing a hoodie.” There’s no guarantee Summer was still in incognito mode, but I have a feeling.

He points down the side of the building. “They went that way.”

I rush down the alley without so much as a “thank you,” but there’s no time for niceties. The crowd thins out the farther from the doors I get, but it’s still pretty dense. I’m still scanning each face I pass, praying I find Summer’s.

When I near the back of the building, I stop, defeat tugging my mouth into a frown. I pull my phone out and try to call Owen again. Nothing.

They’re gone. Miles took her somewhere and…

I can’t even let myself finish the thought.

I’m considering whether I can call the police without looking inside when I look up… and there they are.

Across the street in the alley behind what looks like an abandoned building, I see the familiar, hulking shape of Miles Solomon looming over someone much smaller than he is.

Quickly and quietly, I make my way over, sticking to the shadows so they won’t see me coming.

As I get closer, I hear voices.

“You promised me it would be different,” Summer says.

“I didn’t promise you shit. You took everything the wrong way.”

“Oh, okay. So, when you came so hard you got teary-eyed and then told me you loved me, how was I supposed to take that?”

He seems to grow another foot, backing Summer against the brick wall. “When are you going to learn to shut your damn mouth?”

His words and the tone wrapped around them make me stop at the edge of the alley. I move to where I know they can’t see me and pull my phone out. Then I hit record.

“Maybe when you learn some fucking responsibility!” she snaps back.

“I told you from day fucking one that it was no strings attached. It was hot and it was fun, but it wasn’t supposed to go beyond that.”

My stomach turns. It all sounds so familiar. Everything about him reminds me of Spencer.

“It’s kind of hard to keep it no strings attached when you knock me up,” Summer retorts.

“And whose fucking fault is that?!” Miles is shouting in Summer’s face, trapping her against the wall. “You knew we were going to fuck around. One time I forgot a condom and— Why weren’t you on the pill?”

“That doesn’t matter now, Miles. We have a baby.”

“A baby you should have gotten rid of!”

“You’re disgusting.” She spits the words in his face, and he raises a fist. The way Summer flinches, I know she’s as terrified as I am that he’ll hit her.

Instead, he braces his fists on the wall on either side of her head. “You do know how successful I am, right?”

She doesn’t answer.

Meanwhile, I lean in closer, holding out my phone to get a better recording.

“And you know how much fucking money I have, right? I wouldn’t be surprised if you ‘forgot’ to take your pill just to get knocked up so you could come after me for money.”

“I don’t care about your money, Miles.”

“Well, you should. I could use that money to get rid of both of you.” He grabs her by the jaw and forces her to look at him. “I swear to God, if you even think about opening your mouth and telling people that Nicky is mine, I’ll come after you. Both of you. Your fancy security system and your big brother won’t be able to keep you safe.”

I suppress a scream. I knew Miles was bad, but this is beyond anything I imagined. The man is a monster.

I should do something, but I have no idea what.

And before I can figure it out, my phone rings.

Loudly.

The tinkling, joyful tune echoes down the dark hallway, and I don’t need to see Miles snap his attention towards me to know that I’m now firmly in his sights.

Which is why I shove my phone in my pocket and make a run for it.

I’ll lead him away from Summer, sprint back into Pour Boys, and get the bouncer or Lance or literally anyone to help me. But I don’t even make it across the street before I hear his thundering footsteps behind me and feel his large hand hook around my arm.

“Where you going, Callie?” His tone is sadistically amused.

“Let go!” I fight him, but it’s no use.

“No, I don’t think I will. Let’s have a little chat, shall we?” He drops my arm and grabs me by the hair instead, his hand clawing into my scalp as he drags me back into the alley.

“Summer, run,” I cry.

But Summer doesn’t budge. She’s pleading, tears rolling down her cheeks. “She’s pregnant, Miles. Don’t touch her.”

“Stand there and shut up, and I won’t,” Miles growls before turning his full attention back to me. “Why are you so hard to get rid of, Callie?”

His fingers dig into my already sore biceps, and I want to scream from the pressure alone. “Miles, let go. I won’t run, just let go.”

But he doesn’t. “You know, when I heard that Coach was hiring his niece, I thought it might be a nepo hire, and I looked you up.” He winces. “Not good. For anyone willing to dig deep enough, it was clear that a trail of accusations and broken careers followed you.”

One accusation—that I didn’t even make—and no broken careers. See: Spencer Santos playing for the fucking Scythes. The only thing broken in that situation was me.

But I know I need to play this right.

“Accusations are only a problem for people with something to hide.”

“This is what I’m talking about— difficult .” Miles shoves me against the wall hard enough to knock the wind out of me.

Summer whimpers, but doesn’t say anything. We both know, if one of us leaves, Miles won’t hesitate to hurt the other. There’s nothing he won’t do.

“You almost cost me my job once, and I won’t let it happen again.” He holds out his open hand directly in front of my face. “Give me your phone.”

All I do is smile.

For the first time, his tough facade cracks.

Miles’s eyes widen with what might be real fear. “Where’s your phone?”

I still don’t answer.

Miles grabs me, patting me down and clawing at my clothes to find it.

“Miles, stop!” Summer yells.

I shove him away, but he presses me back into the wall. My mind flashes back to Spencer—to the closet in my office, to the feeling of his hot breath on my skin. But I shut the door on that memory and stay here, now.

Miles bars his forearm across my throat while his other hand scrapes down my body. “I swear to God, I will tear your fucking clothes off if you don’t give me your?—”

“Get your fucking hands off of her!” The voice that comes echoing down the alley floods me with a relief I cannot explain.

I turn with tears in my eyes to see Owen racing towards us, a fury on his face I’ve never seen before.